PVA sponge for texture, or stamp?

Hello all! I have been searching for a sponge that I can cut up very precisely, hoping to make some nice textured effects with it. What I've come up with is a type of supersoaker block: a sponge that hardens when it dries. It becomes so hard that you can carve it. My first attempts look promising, but i started to wonder whether this is something one of you has used or tried before?

And also, what type of designs would you use a custom sponge for? I am thinking about doing a wheeltrack, and scales for pattern. Maybe a large pansy for a stamp. or half a leaf.

Do you have any suggestions for me to try my hand on? I need to get some more sponge block on monday... I was so excited about the idea that I have cut up a part of my cleaning mop to try it...and it works fantastic.

I'll try to post some pictures Monday.

I tryed a sponge once and didn't work for me, for a pattern I use STENCILS, they are all kind of, you can see them (I like BAM) better from SILLY FARM

This is a really interesting idea! Could you tell me more? Maybe add some pictures? Are you using a liquid then and soaking the sponge so it dries hard or is it a specific type of sponge? If it's a liquid do you wash it out? I would be concerned about it not being good for delicate skin.

Fun!
Summer

the sponge is a closed cell synthetic sponge. It's main feature is that it can hold a huge amount of water. I have seen it been sold as a cosmetic sponge in this material, and it is very soft. However it is also available for cleaning purposes ( kitchen etc.) When you leave it out to dry it becomes as hard as a block, supposedly killing of any germs at that point too.
What interests me is that it can be carved and cut very precisely.
The sponge itself is very dense, and holds the paint well!

You mean cellulose sponges? The kitchen ones that expand when wet but are hard and rough when dry?





I've used them for stamping repetitive patterns - they are perfect for brick walls. But not for generally face painting - to rough. Their cosmetic use is as an exfoliator... not something to apply make-up with.

And the cosmetic ones are single use I was taught. And if drying out killed bacteria I don't think I'd be throwing out so many STINKING sponges in my kitchen!

PVA sponges are different than those Shannon. I have not tried face painting with them- I was concerned they might suck up too much paint since they are SUPER absorbant.

This time I googled PVA sponge



These ones look like the cellulose sponges and are abrasive according to the site they are on.

These ones are soft for car washing...



So they should be fine for face painting.

I use car wash sponges for body painting. And would for faces too if I needed to (have a lot of stock so no need).

I recently made some stamps using my grandkids craft foam. I needed designs for the Spaghetti Dinner at our church in Little Italy. I wanted a map of Italy and the Italian Horn (Corno). I just printed a picture of the map in the size I wanted and used it as a pattern to cut the foam with an Xacto knife. Then I glued it to a thicker piece of foam to have something to hold on to. (I tried cutting the thicker foam first but it is too thick to get a nice clean cut.) They are pretty crude but they worked really well. I just painted the stamp with the green/white/red FP and stamped it onto their skin. Then I outlined the map. This would probably work well for your large pansy or half a leaf. It might work with the textured ones too if you use two layers of the thin foam - for example, cut the tracks out of one piece of foam then glue it to another solid piece. Hard to explain but I did it with a sports team logo and it worked really well. I am trying to post more pics of the foam and the result but I keep getting the same picture over and over again. Don't know what I am doing wrong. I'll try them one at a time.

OK. Got it to work. Awfully big though!

Hello again. The sponge thatI am using is certainly suited for Fp, it is very soft and not abrasive. It DOES soak up loads of water, but what I do is a moist it , to soften, then wring it out, and then you just dab it onto the paint just like a stamp.

I'll try to post some pictures of my first attempt: https://i.servimg.com/u/f43/17/03/11/40/feestj11.jpg

Hmm not sure yet how to do the pictures here!

I'm quite happy with the result, it yields crisp lines, picks up the paint well and you can do at least 5 to 6 decent stamps with one load.

Definitely something you can use. Labour intensive initially but for a big project would be useful.

It looks like snazaroo stamps!!!